Googler says you shouldn’t buy OnePlus USB Type-C accessories

OnePlus has been a huge supporter of the new USB Type-C standard. Their latest smartphone (OnePlus 2) is one of the few devices touting the new port, and their cables seem to be very well made, as well as affordable. Should you go with these nifty accessories, though? At first sight it would seem OnePlus has the best options for USB-C accessories, but Google employee Benson Leung claims that is not always the case.

In fact, depending on your device, OnePlus’ USB-Type C adapter and charging cable may damage the charger, hub or PC USB port. Up to Benson’s knowledge, owners of the Chromebook Pixel, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X should be the ones worried. Keep in mind other devices might also be affected, but Bendon Leung can only speak for Google’s. We are sure these will work well with your OnePlus smartphone, though.

The reason behind this issue is that these cables don’t seem to be spec compliant. Leung states the Chinese startup is using the wrong identifier resistor; these cables utilize a 3A identifier resistor instead of the “Default USB Power” one. This discrepancy may prove to be damaging, and very expensive to the consumer.

While not many of us have heard of Benson Leung, he has been really busy trying to make USB Type-C accessory manufacturers stay true to the standard. In fact, he warned us about cheap USB Type-C cables recently, and he has been called the “USB Vigilante” by PC Mag. What some of these cable makers are doing won’t only make your device act weird, it could be downright dangerous!

In addition to telling us about these bad cables through his Google+ account, he has been reviewing other cables on Amazon and is even contemplating starting a blog where he can document all his tests. What do you guys say? I would definitely follow his website!